National Republican., 1887-08-13
INTERESTING STATISTICS.

1hC Length, Breadth, Height, and
Weight of the Money in the Treasury.
A Washington dispatch to the Philadol-
pbia Ledger says:
Few persons perhaps who read the fre-
queutly published reports of the fiscal ope
fations Of the government give any consli-
Grafton to the vastness and significance Of
the operations. We read OF the hundreds
Of millions Of gold aud silver in the treas.
ury, but how few persons have any inteili-
gent idea of what Is embraced in the uine
figures required to describe the liabilities
and assets OF the government. IL Is Only
when the auriferous contents OF the trGts-
ury vaults are weighed and measured aud
placed by the side Of articles and commo.
dites that are daily handled by the masses
that an intelligent comprehension can be
obtained by the people OF the financial
strength Of the treHsury-the great extent
OF the governments fiscal operations. a
find by reference to the latest publisher
statement of treasury assets and liabilities
that among the assets was $2sl, ,296 Al 10
gold, and nearly S25l, 100000 In silver, In
Guiding 3i,000000 Of trade dollars aud
fractional coins. Taking up these $23l,.
CC0,C00 of gold and placing them on the
scales, / find that the gold held by the
treasury weighs 5l0 tons, and, II picSed
into ordinary carts, one ton to each cart, It
would make n procession two miles long.
allt wing 20 feet OF space for the movement
Of each horse aud cart. The weighing Of
the silver produces much more interesting
results. Running this over the scales | lind
its weight to be 1896 tons. Measuring 1t
In carts, as IN the case OF the gold, the
silver now held by the treasury would
require the services OF 1896 horses ana
carts to transport 1t, and would make pro-
cession over twenty.on miles in length.
~ III IL, a.,
said In the daily newspapers, amounts b.
nearly I7, COO, 600, an increase Of S. 900, 900
since July |. Counted as gold the surplus
would weigh SCI tons: counted as silver IT.
would weigh 3S5 tons. Each milijn of
gold adds 3,6S5 pounds to the surplus an
each million OF silver adds $500 pounds.
Applying cubic measurements to the treas.
ury gold and silver, and pilng the two
metals on Pennsylvania avenue as cord
wood is piled before delivery to the pur
chaser, find that the gold would measure
81 cords and the silver 400 cords, and that
both would extend from the Treasury De
partment to Four-and a-half street, or from
the treasury to the pension Office in n
straight line, and forming solid wall eight
feet high and four feet broad for distance
Of seven. eighths OF q mile.
Extending these calculations and com
parisons to the interest-bearing debt equally
interesting results are obtained. The public
debt reached the highest point in August,
1868, Just twenty-five years ago, when IL
was S2,2Sl, $50, ,295. The general reader will
better appreciate the vastness OF the sum
when Informed thatit represents 10, 1856 tons
| Of silver, which would make procession
| Of carts that would extend from Richmond,
| Va, to point twelve miles north OF Pnila-
| delphia, the distance 1t would thus cover
being 266 miles. The interest bearing debt
is now, not including the Pacific railroad
bonds, $l,00l ,916, $50 showing that the sum
paid has been $l,3T9 ,553, ,445, or more than
| one-half of the total amount, and repre-.
| sentiDg 40,G37 tons OF silver dollars, which
| would extend Ia miles If packed In carts
| containing one ton each.
| Reducing these figures to basis where
they may be.intelligently comprehended and
that the rapidity with which the govern
| ment has reduced its bonded debt may be
| fully realized by the general reader, | find
that the reduction has been at the average
rate Of S62, ,706,975 each year, S5,235, ,5Sl
| each month, STA 1856 each day, 81 25S each
hour, and $l20 AZ for every minute of tue
entire 22 years. Pursuing the calcula
tlon to the smallest diyisable space OF time
the bonded debt OF the Uni'ed States has
been decreased at the rate OF two dollars
and seven mills for every second, or foi
every swing Of the pendulum, for the entire
period from Aug. 81, 1865, to July 81. 1897.
This is an exhibition Of recuperltior aud
material progress on the part OF thu couu
Try and Of sterling honesty and intc grity on
| the part OF the government and people tha,
| Is without parallel In the worlds history.